Caroline Kennedy named as US ambassador to Japan

Mark Landler

Caroline Kennedy has been picked as ambassador despite never having worked in government. Photo: AP

Washington: President Barack Obama has nominated Caroline Kennedy to be ambassador to Japan, moving to give a scion of America's most enduring political dynasty a diplomatic post that has often gone to political heavyweights.

In naming Ms Kennedy, whose appointment had been rumoured for months, Mr Obama is keeping with a long tradition of rewarding important campaign supporters with plum embassies. He recently nominated major fund-raisers to be envoys in London and Berlin.

But Ms Kennedy's value to Mr Obama has been less about money than mystique. As the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, her imprimatur on his candidacy in 2008 - along with that of her uncle Senator Edward Kennedy - elevated him at a key moment against his better-known rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

And it gave Ms Kennedy lasting ties to Mr Obama, something analysts said would be useful in Japan, where public officials and journalists have been buzzing with speculation about a Kennedy in Tokyo.

Ms Kennedy, 55, a lawyer, author and director of numerous non-profit organisations, has never worked in government and has no special expertise in Japan. But some experts said her lack of knowledge was outweighed by her connections to the Oval Office.

She shares that with other marquee figures who have been ambassadors to Tokyo, including former vice-president Walter Mondale; Howard Baker, a former senator and White House chief of staff; and Thomas Foley, a former speaker of the House.

"For those who say she doesn't know a lot about Japan, I say, sure, but neither did Walter Mondale," said Kurt Campbell, a Japan expert who was assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs.

"What you really want in an ambassador is someone who can get the president of the United States on the phone," Mr Campbell said. "I can't think of anybody in the United States who could do that more quickly than Caroline Kennedy."